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       You see, the stiletto style is named after a type of short knife or dagger that features a long and thin . Stiletto style shoes are one of the most known styles, earning longstanding respect as one of the finest fashions in the industry.If you want to make a statement with you image, then you’ll want to make sure you make that statement with the help of a gorgeous pair of stilettos. You can actually make a wide range of statements thanks to the luxurious variety they offer, including stiletto pumps, stiletto high heels, stiletto boots and more.
        The choice is yours, and when you choose from strictly stiletto, it’s impossible to go wrong. You see, the stiletto style is named after a type of short knife or dagger that features a long and thin blade. As a part of that, this style will always be on the cutting edge of new fashion. However, high heel stiletto shoes are also amazing in their ability to honor retro and classic styles as well, granting a truly varied and beautiful line of shoes and heels. Do you want to know how walk in stiletto without stumbling anything? Then, you should watch this......

artiCle review

Title      : Investigating the use of social networking services in Japanese EFL classrooms

Volume : The JALT CALL Journal.2008 Volume 4, No, 1, pp, 40-52 Copyright  
Source  :  http://www.jaltcall.org/journal/articles/4_1_Kikuchi.pdf

Authors:  Keita Kikuchi ,Waseda University, Japan.

                Toru Otsuka, Shizunai Senior High School, Japan.

          The article is about investigating the effectiveness of using social networking services in Japanese EFL classrooms. In this rapid changing world,  Social Networking Services (SNS) such as electronic mail (e-mail) and blogs are getting more attention not only in the United States and Europe, but also Japan. Therefore, the researchers intended to investigate some aspects of the participation's perceptions of SNS and make clear the nature of students' underlying motivations for writing blogs.
          The aim of this research was to identify forces that may make students want to learn English using blogs in Social Networking Services and indicate their reactions to the application of the use of SNS in their English classes. This research had been conducted on ninety two university students  in three EFL courses offered  in two Japanese universities. They all were taught by the same teacher and had been invited to participate in  an invite-only network. In this class, students were instructed to post any information that they wanted to share with their classmates in their blog. They were also promoted to make friends with anyone on the SNS  who they could communicate in English. The methodology of the research employed both quantitative and qualitative form of study, where questionnaires and one open-ended question had been used. The questionnaires consisted three parts featuring; (1) general background questions; (2) questions concerning the frequency  of computer use; (3) thirty items arranged in a 5- point Likert scale, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree to statement about their motivation for using computers in blog writing in the second language classroom. The questionnaires were formatted into online survey whereby the students were asked to complete the questionnaires through the website. The questions were all in Japanese so that the students could understand the content of the questionnaire sufficiently.
          The first finding of the research was underlying characteristics of motivation toward SNS. There are three factors which ; (1) Firstly, it was communication and empowerment through the use of computers whereby the computers facilitate communication between learners both inside and outside the class; (2) secondly, some respondents see the use of computers in English classes is useful though they recognize that it may be easier to write papers by hand; (3) thirdly, it was reluctance to use computers. The second finding of this research was participants' reactions to the practice of using SNS in their English classes. There were five feedback that the participants had given; (1) Appreciation of having the opportunity to type in English; (2) Appreciation of the commenting function of the blog; (3) Appreciation of increased opportunities through blog writing assignments; (4) Negative feeling towards blog assignments; (5) Negative feeling towards the use of computers in English classes.
          In my opinion, this study still did not cover the use of social networking services in Japanese EFL classrooms as a whole. It covered only some items in motivating the students to use SNS in English language classes. I suggest that if the research will be conducted in the future, the researcher need to emphasize on the pros and cons of using SNS in the English language classes.
           In relation to the Malaysian context, learning using the technology can only be observed in certain schools in the urban areas.  The real situation of learning second language by students today is the inability to relate what they learn in written form and their daily usage of second language that they have learnt in the classroom. Despite of lack of proficiency in second and foreign language among students, the use of social networking services can increase level of motivation in learning language. I strongly feel that language teachers in Malaysia should adapt this form of teaching language not just to give more exposure to the learners on how the target language is used but also to strengthen and improve  language learning.
         All in all, I believe that language teachers can make a big difference in learners’ learning by using the social networking services in the classroom.

HOT POTATOES?

Have you heard about HOT POTATOES?

Some may say yes! Some may say  no!

For those who are semester eight students and have been in semester eight surely a big yes! 

So, what is HOT POTATOES anyway?

It is not a freeware, but it is free of charge. It is for non-profit educational users who make their pages available on the web. It has six applications, which are JMix, JMatch, JCloze, JCross, JQuiz and The Masher. These application will assist you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching or ordering and gap-fill exercises and make them available on a web page. HOT POTATOES uses advanced Javascript but it does not expect the users to know anything about Javascript or HTML or any other programming language to get things done.

Therefore, these are some of the advantages of using HOT POTATOES that I could share with you, First, it can facilitate the teachers  in constructing the exercises with minimal training of using this application. Teachers do not have to be stressed to produce one piece of exercise to the students. In addition, the exercises that have been produced by HOT POTATOES are interactive as the teachers can includes sounds and pictures to attract students interest in completing the tasks. Moreover, the interactivity of the exercises will motivate the learners to act independently and  help them in keeping their motivation level high. Learners also will have more control (pace, choices, etc) in doing the tasks rather than a paper exercise where any one word can be the stumbling block to understanding as this type of exercise provides the tools to overcome the difficulty. Lastly, instant feedback in completing the task will help the learners in their learning.

Nevertheless, there are also the disadvantages of HOT POTATOES that I have discovered. Firstly, it has limited interaction between the learners, teachers and the computer itself. It is all too often a "click-and-go" approach, which can mean that the student is not given sufficient scaffolding or support in the learning process. Secondly, it creates the tendency of the learners to operate a binary correction strategy whereby the learners use the assumption 'If X is wrong, then Y must be the answer'. HOT POTATOES could only be used as a self-learning or a self assessment tool, but does not have merit as a testing tool.

In brief, HOT POTATOES is a tool that assist the teacher to embrace the technology in classrooms. It will give new opportunities to empower students to reach new heights. I believe when the teachers keep students away from technology, they take away the opportunities that are readily available overseas.

In-cLaSs taSk 5

This is the link to my Jmatch

http://www.mediafire.com/?fbba8qbgvg096bx